In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

[Ding— Congratulations on leveling up! The fourth equipment slot has been unlocked!]

[Reward: Recipe analysis attempts +2]

The new equipment slot is finally unlocked!

Chen Wei was overjoyed and immediately went to check the reward.

Judging from the skill description, this reward upgrades the recipe analysis skill to a higher level.

Previously, the recipe analysis function could only be used once every 3 days, but now it can be used 3 times every 3 days.

This greatly increases the margin for error.

This actually brought a lot of convenience to the cooking competition.

The immediate task is to address the issue of the fourth equipment slot. Now that the fourth equipment slot has been unlocked, Chen Wei will definitely need to explore again to see if there is any equipment around that can be recognized by the equipment slot.

After the first two attempts, he had almost figured out the system's patterns.

Tier 1 equipment is relatively ordinary, providing only basic cooking skills and no other bonus effects.

Once you reach the second tier of equipment, you'll get certain bonus effects, like the steel kitchen knife he has now.

Therefore, after the fourth equipment slot was unlocked, Chen Wei did not rush to explore the relatively ordinary kitchen utensils that were already in the kitchen.

Instead, he planned to go to the mall to see if he could buy some better kitchenware.

It was time for their weekly half-day off, so Chen Wei said goodbye to the kitchen staff and rode Chen Jianguo's bicycle out the door.

Chen Wei returned to the same Quanyechang store as before.

This state-run store is the largest in Jinshi, with a dazzling array of goods.

Chen Wei didn't linger at the grocery or clothing counters, but instead asked the sales clerk where the kitchenware counter was.

The saleswoman at the counter was a young girl with two small braids. She was quite enthusiastic, and as soon as she saw Chen Wei's handsome face, she immediately showed a bright smile.

"Comrade, go inside, and when you see the radio counter, turn left. You'll see it right away!"

"Thank you!" Chen Wei said with a smile, then turned and walked inside.

Completely unaware that the smile on his lips had captivated the young girl, who stared at him in a daze for a long time before turning away to greet the guests.

Chen Wei naturally didn't notice any of this and simply walked all the way to the kitchenware counter.

As soon as Chen Wei arrived at the counter, he discovered a very serious problem.

The department store is so well managed; all these kitchen utensils are displayed in glass cases, so he can't reach them!

However, at this moment, the sales clerk behind the counter leaned out with a warm, professional smile on her face.

"Comrade, what would you like to order?"

"Uh..." Chen Wei scratched his head vigorously, staring at the dazzling array of kitchen utensils in the glass cabinet. He couldn't tell which one was good and which one was bad.

Or rather, how to distinguish between good and bad? He used to rely entirely on the system for this, and if you asked him to distinguish with his naked eye, he really wouldn't know how.

After struggling for a while, Chen Wei could only scratch his head.

"I'm just... just browsing. Um... you go ahead and get busy."

The sales clerk at the counter immediately darkened her face, her expression showing a hint of disdain, and turned away to attend to other customers.

Chen Wei stood by the counter, carefully observing the kitchen utensils through the glass panel.

Surprisingly, the state-run store had a pretty complete selection of kitchenware.

There are iron pots, aluminum basins, enamel mugs, bamboo steamers, cutting boards, kitchen knives, iron spatulas...

Almost every kitchen utensil Chen Wei could think of was available in the cabinets here.

He scanned each item one by one, trying to discern the differences between the various categories, but with the glass in front of him, it was a huge undertaking.

Without the system's judgment, Chen Wei couldn't see any difference between the various types of kitchenware.

Just as his nose was almost touching the glass counter, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Hey kid! What are you looking at?!"

Chen Wei turned around abruptly and saw Wang Defa sitting in a simple wheelchair, smiling and squinting at him from two steps away.

The old man was wearing a navy blue polyester short-sleeved shirt today, revealing his two fairly strong arms. He looked better than when he left the factory.

"Chef Wang! Long time no see! How are you feeling?"

Chen Wei answered readily, showing none of the previous tension and awkwardness between the two.

Wang Defa smiled, his expression showing that he had long since let go of past grievances.

"Much better. People get better slowly as they get older! What? Are you buying kitchenware?"

He pointed to the counter: "You can't really tell anything just by looking at it from here. When buying kitchenware, you have to touch it and feel it to choose the right ones for you."

Wang Defa spoke in a lecturing tone, as if he were reprimanding a younger generation.

But this time, Chen Wei was all smiles.

He couldn't tell the quality of these kitchen utensils, but Wang Defa was an expert!

Now that they've met, Chen Wei naturally won't let this ready-made identification machine go to waste.

He scratched his head and gave a humble smile.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, but I really want to buy a few useful kitchen utensils. However, I can't tell the quality from the glass. Could you help me make an assessment?"

Although Wang Defa gave Chen Wei a kitchen knife when he left last time, Chen Wei was still unsure of the old man's attitude towards him.

But the next moment he saw Wang Defa raise an eyebrow.

"Buying kitchenware? It must be for your cooking competition! Come on, it's rare to see you, let me give you my opinion!"

As he said this, Wang Defa actually waved and called the sales clerk over.

"Young man, could you please bring me this big iron pot and that wok?"

Wang Defa casually picked out two items. When the salesperson brought them out, he weighed them in his hand, then held them up to the light again to carefully examine the quality and any sand holes in the pots.

"Both of these pots are decent, but to be honest, they're not as good as the big double-handled cast iron wok in our kitchen! We personally seasoned and maintained that wok; it has a solid foundation and is easier to use than these new ones from outside. I don't recommend you change them!"

As he said this, Wang Defa pointed to the bottom of the counter again.

"Let me see this cutting board!"

A cutting board? Chen Wei looked over with curiosity. What use could a cutting board be?

Then we saw the salesperson forcefully pull a thick wooden board from the bottom of the counter.

The wooden board was purplish-black all over, with fine grain; it was clearly a good piece of stuff.

Chen Wei looked at it with some trepidation. Could this newly acquired item really be used as a fourth piece of equipment?

Thinking this, he reached out and touched it.

As soon as he placed his hand on it, the familiar system notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding—Equipable item detected!]